Means for transporting a bait

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a means ( 1 ) for transporting a line ( 3 ) and any bait ( 2 ) attached to the line to the spot of fishing. The frame ( 11 ) of the transporting means ( 1 ) comprises two elongated guide branches ( 11   b   ; 11   b   ′; 11   b ″) connected by a support member ( 11   a ). The transporting means ( 1 ) is actuated by means of a water-jet engine ( 4 ) provided in the guide branches ( 11 ). The line ( 3 ) is releasably connected to the line guide ( 5 ) of the transporting means ( 1 ). The transporting means has a receiver ( 7 ), which can be provided with control commands by means of a control means ( 6 ). The invention also relates to a means for controlling the transporting means, which is connected to the pole ( 8; 81 ) of the fishing device.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation application of application Ser. No. 10/471,837,which claims priority to International Application No. PCT/FI02/00213,filed Mar. 15, 2002 (which in turn claims priority to FI 20010520, filedMar. 15, 2001) all of which are incorporated by reference herein.

DESCRIPTION

The invention relates to a means as defined in the preamble of claim 1for transporting a line and a bait attached to the line to the spot offishing, the frame of the means comprising two elongated guide branches.connected by a support member, the means being actuated by means of awater-jet engine provided in the guide branches, and the line beingreleasably connected to the line guide of the means.

Persons fishing on the shore with a spinning lure or a hook and linewith a worm often have problems in detecting the most likely place ofthe fish because of trees on the waterline or water plants growing onthe shore. There are several prior art means for transporting. a bait,such as a lure or a living bait, at the end of the fishing line to thedesired spot of fishing. Such conventional means are usually mini-boatsequipped with a propeller and power supply from a small electric orinternal combustion engine. They are steered with a separate remotecontrol device from the shore. Thus, for instance, FR Patent Application2 715 534 discloses one such fishing device known per se.

However, remote-controlled, mini-boats driven by electric or internalcombustion engines often involve several drawbacks: the combustionengine is too loud for fishing and the propeller of mini-boats tend toget entangled with the line. Another drawback relates to the control ofmini-boats: remote control devices devised for the control of miniaturemodels have been used for remote control, and they are difficult to usein fishing, because the fisherman will not react quickly enough when thefish bites.

The purpose of the invention is to eliminate the shortcomings of priorart. Thus, the first objective of the invention is to provide atransporting means, with the aid of which the line and the bait attachedto it can be guided exactly to the fishing spot without risk of the linebeing entangled in the propeller.

The objectives mentioned above are achieved with the transporting meansof the invention.

The invention relates more particularly to a means as defined in claim 1for transporting the line and the bait attached to the line to the spotof fishing.

The frame of the means of the invention for transporting the line andthe bait attached to the line to the spot of fishing has two elongatedguide branches connected by a support member. The transporting means isactuated by means of a water-jet engine provided between the branches.The line is releasably connected to the line guide. The means also has areceiver, which can be given commands by a control device. The controldevice of the invention is connected to the pole of the fishing device.

The invention is based on the fundamental idea of using a water-jetengine as the power source of the transporting means, achieving thenotable benefit of the engine of the transporting means not gettingentangled with the line under any circumstances. The control device ofthe transporting means is connected directly to the pole of the fishingdevice and the transporting means has a line guide, the line passingthrough this being rapidly released so as to allow the fisherman tocontrol the fishing process with the aid of the fishing device. This, inturn, yields the benefit of allowing the fisherman to react quickly to afish biting the bait.

Among additional advantages achieved with the invention we note that,owing to the water-jet-engine used as the power source of thetransporting means, this does not become as easily entangled with watervegetation as does say, a propeller-driven mini-boat.

The invention is explained more in detail below with reference to theaccompanying figures.

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of the transporting means, viewed fromabove and in section. FIG. 1B shows the transporting means of FIG. 1Awith the line and the bait.

FIG. 2A shows the operating mechanism of the line guide. FIG. 2B showsthe line guide in closed and open position in an oblique frontperspective view.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the control device attached to the pole.

In FIG. 1A, the frame 11 of the transporting means 1 has two elongatedguide branches 11 b; 11 b′, 11 b″, connected by a support member 1 a.The cross-sectional profile of the support member 11 a is roughlyrectangular and it has a thickness in the longitudinal direction of theguide branches such that it can accommodate the engine members of thewater-jet engine 4 controlling the movements of the means 1 and also areceiver 7. The receiver is a four-channel radio receiver. usingservo-assisted steering. The water-jet engine 4 comprises two enginemembers 4 a; 4 a′, 4 a″, which inject water into two water transferpipes 4 c provided in the guide branches 11 b; 11 b′, 11 b″ of thetransport member. The figure only shows one of the water-transfer pipes4 c; 4 c″.

The pressurised water passes from the water-transfer pipes to thenozzles 4 b; 4 b′, 4 b″ of the water-jet engine 4 at the ends of thewater-jet pipes, shown better in FIG. 1B, causing the transporting meansto move on the action-reaction principle.

By studying the engine means. 4 a; 4 a′, 4 a″ shown in FIG. 1A, it canbe seen that they receive commands for controlling the water supplypressure from a receiver 7 located in the centre of the support member 1a. These control commands regulate the overall pressure of the water jetgenerated jointly by the engine members 4 a; 4 a′, 4 a″ and determinethe distribution of the overall pressure of the water jet between theengine members 4 a; 4 a′, 4 a″. In addition, the transmitter. emitsactivating and deactivating commands of the engines (on/off function) aswell as commands for regulating the overall pressure of the water jet,controlling the speed of the transporting means. FIG. 1A also shows aline guide 5 located approximately at the centre of the inner edge ofthe support member 11; 11 a and the batteries 9 located in the guidebranches.

The operating principle of the line guide 5 is best shown in FIGS. 2Aand 2B. The parts of the line guide 5 shown in FIG. 2A including thelocking arm 51 are located inside the support member of the frame 11 ofthe transporting means, whereas the locking members 52 of the line guide5 shown in FIG. 2B are mainly located outside the frame. In FIG. 2A, thegear wheels 51 b; 51 b′, 51 b″ of the locking arms 51 of the line guide5 are driven by .the intermediary of a toothed wheel 51 a, which isconnected to the first gear wheels 51 b″ of the locking arm 51″. Controlcommands determining the direction of rotation are transmitted to thetoothed wheel 51 a over the receiver 7.

The locking arms shown in FIG. 2A are located within the locking members52; 52′, 52″ shown in FIG. 2B, with the line 3 passing between thefriction surfaces 53; 53′; 53″ of the locking members 52. With the lineguide 5 in locking position (viewed from the left in FIG. 2B, the firstposition of the locking members 52 of the line guide), the lockingmembers 52; 52′; 52″ press the line 3 tightly between the frictionsurfaces 53; 53′; 53″, preventing the movements of the line 3 relativeto the line guide 5 (locking function of the line guide). When the lineguide 5 is in half released position (central position of the lockingmember 52 of the line guide), the friction surfaces 53 of the lockingmembers do not prevent the line from passing freely, the line stillpassing through the line guide. When the line guide 5 is in releasedposition (third position of the locking member 52 of the line guideviewed from the left), the line 3 and the lure 2. at its end arecompletely released from the line guide and the fisher controls the fishmerely by means of the fishing device (release function of the lineguide).

When the toothed wheel 51 a shown in FIG. 2A is rotated clockwise, thelocking arms 51; 51′; 51″ of FIG. 2B are brought apart, thus releasingthe. line 3 to pass partly or totally freely between the frictionsurfaces 53; 53′; 53″ of the. locking members, so that the location ofthe line and the bait attached to it is allowed to change relative tothe line guide 5 (two last positions of the line guide in FIG. 2B).When, in turn, the toothed wheel 51 a is rotated counter-clockwise, thelocking arms 51; 51′; 51″ approach each other, finally locking the linebetween the friction surfaces 53; 53′; 53″ of the locking members 52;52′; 52″ (first position of the line guide in FIG. 2B), the position ofthe line 3 and the bait 2 attached to it relative to the line guide 1being locked in a given position.

FIG. 3 illustrates the design of the control means 6 which is attachedto the pole 8;81 of the fishing device and is used for controlling thefunctions of the line guide of the transporting means and those of thewater-jet engine. The control means 6 contains a transmitter unit, whichis either a conventional radio transmitter known per se, which is usedin RC techniques and provides the receiver with control commands bymodulating the carrier wave. Optionally, control commands can betransmitted to the receiver as text messages by means of GSM techniquesknown per se. The fishing device 8 is also known per se, comprising afishing means 82 attached to the pole 81 and having a reel for windingand unwinding the line. The control means 6 is removably attached to thepole 8; 81 of the fishing device immediately above the reel 8; 82, beingthus easy to use. Being releasable, the control means 6 can be used indifferent poles and varied environments. The control commandscontrolling the release and locking operations of the line guide aregenerated by means of a control button 61 and the control commands ofthe water-jet engine for regulating the relative water-jet pressure ofthe engine members and the overall pressure of the water jet aregenerated by means of the pressure regulator 62. In addition, thecontrol means has an on/off switch 63, providing the control commandsfor switching the. water-jet engine on and off.

The transporting means 1 of the invention is brought exactly to thedesired spot of fishing by means of the pressure regulator 62 and the(on/off) switch 63. The pressure regulator 62 is of the joystick type,serving to adjust the mutual ratio of the pressure of the water jetsgenerated by the engine members 4 a; 4 a′, 4 a″ as well as the overallpressure of the water jet generated by these. The lateral motions of thepressure regulator relative to the pole are used to control the mutualratio of the pressure of the water jets discharged through the nozzles 4b; 4 b′; 4 b″ of the guide branch and the longitudinal motions of thepressure regulator pole. are used. to adjust the total overall pressureof the water jets discharged through the nozzles 4 b of the guidebranch. If the pressure of the water jets discharged through the nozzles4 b; 4 b′; 4 b″ have identical pressure, the transporting means 1 willmove along a straight trajectory. If, again, the water jet is dischargedthrough either of the nozzles 4 b; 4 b′; 4 b″ under higher pressure thanthe water jet discharged through the other one, the transporting means 1will turn in the direction of the guide branch from which the water jetis discharged, under lower pressure. By adjusting the overall pressureof the water jets, the speed of movement of the transporting means isvaried. The operation of the engine members 4 a is stopped by means ofthe switch 63 of the control means. When a fish bites the bait 3, thefisherman releases the line from the line guide 5 either completely 61 cor partly 61 b using the control button 61. When completely releasedfrom the line guide 61 c, the line will no longer pass through the lineguide and then the fisherman is controlling the fishing process entirelyby means of the fishing device. When partly released from the lineguide, the line will move freely relative to the line guide, while stillpassing through the line guide. When the bait is taken to the fishingspot, the line guide is locked into locking position 61 a. Using thereleasing and locking functions of the line guide 6, it is also easy toadjust the fishing depth of the bait 2, thus achieving the same depthfor the bait as the depth achieved with depth regulators usuallyattached directly to the lure.

Only a number of embodiments of the transporting means of the inventionand its control means have been described above, and it is obvious to aperson skilled in the art that the invention can be implemented in manyother ways without departing from the inventive idea defined in theclaims.

Thus part of the functions of the line guide can also be automated, forinstance with the release function of the line guide being automaticwhen a fish bites the bait. This can be done for instance with amovement sensor provided in the line guide for detecting any suddentensioning of the line. The control means may also comprise differentfunctions than and/or additional functions to those described above. Thelocation of the locking members for the line guide on the frame of thetransporting means is not necessarily the one shown in the figures, butthe locking members may be located on the frame, for instance.

The frame of the transporting means can be equipped with a longitudinalsteering arm extending upwardly from the plane of the frame in order tomaintain the line in position relative to the water surface, allowingthe transporting means to be used in fly-fishing.

The transporting means can also be equipped with other accessories tofacilitate and animate the fishing process, such as for instance an echodepth sounder to facilitate the positioning of the fish.

The control means is preferably connected to the pole of the fishingmeans with a quick-connecting mechanism allowing it to be rapidlyswitched to another fishing device.

1. Means (1) for transporting a line (3) and any bait (2) attached tothe line to the spot of fishing, in which the frame (11) of thetransporting means (1) comprises two elongated guide branches (11 b; 11b′, 11 b″) connected by support member (11 a), the transporting means(1) can be actuated by means of a water-jet engine (4) provided in theguide branches (11 b) and the line (3) is releasably connected to theline guide (5) of the transporting means (1), characterised in that thetransporting means has a receiver (7), which can be provided withcontrol commands by means of a control means (6) connected to the pole(8; 81) of the fishing means.
 2. A transporting means as defined inclaim 1, characterised in that the control means (6) is releasablyconnected to the pole (8; 81) of the fishing means.
 3. A transportingmeans as defined in claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the water-jetengine (4) can be controlled with radio control by means of the controlmeans (6).
 4. A transporting means as defined in any of the precedingclaims, characterised in that the control devices of the control means(6), such as push-buttons (61, 63) and a joystick (62), are located onthe upper surface of the control means and are thus easy to handle withthe user's thumb or index finger.